I Am Raising a Daughter in This Life

Finals (4)

“From now on, the finals of the swordsmanship competition! Let’s start the round of 16!”

“Waaa!”

At the words of the host, Nelson, people cheered and clapped loudly, making the hall buzz.

The audience was already full because it was the most anticipated of the four contests.

As if they had come to see the atmosphere, there were also people who looked like aristocrats sitting on the other side.

Those who appeared to be knights were also seen busily wandering around in the audience, as if checking safety.

No, who are you looking for?

I recalled my memories for a while, but then I remembered that there was no special incident at that time, and I turned off my mind.

Whatever happens, it probably has nothing to do with me.

And with Nelson’s introduction, Patrick and the other contestant came up to the arena and faced each other.

“Starting from the round of 16, it will be a best-of-three match. The conditions for winning a duel are determined by the opponent’s declaration of defeat, off the field, by the act of missing a weapon, or by my judgment as a referee. So are you ready?”

Patrick nodded with a wooden sword and the opponent held a wooden spear, and soon Nelson’s hand dropped and signaled the start.

Patrick took a big step and swung his sword at his opponent, just like in the preliminary match.

Aww!

The stance of the opponent who blocked it with a cheerful sound did not collapse.

It was because he took advantage of the spear and retreated slightly to receive it. Come to think of it, I was the only kid who passed through the preliminary round with a spear.

He seems to have some skills, but I don’t remember seeing him at school.

The confrontation between the two was somewhat tense enough to be suitable for the first match.

Of course, I don’t know the general public, but in my opinion, Patrick had the upper hand.

None of the opponent’s attacks were effective against Patrick.

The duel, which produced a close match suitable for the first match, ended with Patrick winning two.

“Patrick is the winner! We advance to the quarterfinals!”

Receiving cheers and applause from the crowd, the two contestants greeted each other and exited the arena.

The games that followed were so ordinary that there was no need to explain them one by one.

Unlike the preliminaries, I was able to put all my effort into one opponent, but it was a bit more intense, so I and my party were not very impressed.

“When will our Rize come out?”

“I thought it would make a big difference after the preliminaries. After all, there are no kids who can compete with Rize.”

“Ugh, I’m worried that the lady will be okay alone in the waiting room.”

Aren’t they all talking about Rize?

But Lize’s match was the last, and we had no choice but to keep watching the other kids’ matches, which were starting to get boring.

so finally… … .

“Now then, the long-awaited final match in the round of 16!”

“Waaa!”

what? People’s reactions are stronger than expected?

As I was questioning that, Irina, who was next to me, explained instead.

“The rumors about the lady spread faster than I thought. There is a contestant with great skills in the swordsmanship competition. Including the Patrick I saw earlier. I don’t know if it was intended or not.”

“Perhaps it was intended. It’s obvious that he intends to raise interest in the swordsmanship tournament even a little bit.”

I felt like I was being taken advantage of, but it was obvious that I would get attention as long as I participated in a swordsmanship competition.

Wouldn’t that be a candidate for the championship? No, it wasn’t a candidate, it was Rize, who was tantamount to winning.

So, as long as you show up for the match… … .

“… … Please wait a moment. Right now, I’m having a little problem and I’m checking it out. It will be resolved soon, so please wait for the audience for a moment.”

As if something had happened just before, people started to walk around busily downstairs.

where is rize?

The kid standing at the place where the contestants entered, as if he didn’t know why, must be the opponent… … .

“Irina.”

“Yes, I will go.”

Irina also got up from her seat and left the audience, probably thinking the same thing as me.

Scarlett asked me with a puzzled face as if she hadn’t figured out what was going on yet.

“Do you know what’s going on?”

“I can’t see Rize’s face. Maybe something happened.”

As I said that, I glanced over the entire auditorium with wide-eyed eyes. In any case, if he was in the audience, he could find it right away.

There’s no way I wouldn’t recognize Rize.

But even there, Rize was nowhere to be seen.

He was not a child who would disappear without reason. I thought he must have been caught up in something.

Could it be that one of the participants did harm?

Or maybe it was related to an arrogant aristocrat.

If not, is he running away from a group of assassins?

Countless thoughts kept popping into my head and disappearing, leading to negative imaginations.

“Whoa.”

I couldn’t even sit still like this.

The moment I got up and turned around to look around the arena, I saw a familiar figure running down the stairs.

“Rizeya!”

“Dad!”

Something… … It feels like there’s one more person in the back.

It looks like she’s holding hands with Rize.

Rize, who came down quickly with an unknown person, immediately held out the person she came with to me.

“This is my friend Dina! I’ll ask you a favor while I duel!”

Then, before he had time to say anything, he climbed the stairs further down and climbed over the railing and went inside.

“Forgive me for being late! I went to the bathroom!”

It was an indescribable feeling for my daughter to go to the toilet in front of so many people.

After watching the management team talking about Rize downstairs for a while, I turned my eyes to Rize’s friend who was still standing there.

It was difficult to see her head and body covered with a dark blue robe, but judging from her silhouette, she looked like a girl about Rize’s age.

However, just by standing there, I could feel the elegance somehow. The clothes she was wearing also looked very classy.

Judging from this, it was clear that he was not a child living in Findel.

“Would you like to sit down?”

“Ah yes… … .”

I must have heard this voice somewhere… … .

Inadvertently and politely, a child named Dinah cautiously sat down next to him.

Douglas and Scarlett also showed interest in saying that they were Rize’s friends, and Dina, ashamed of those gazes, slightly pulled the hood.

The eyes peeking through the cracks… … It had a distinct golden color.

“… … .”

no, please

At the same time as I felt dizzy, a rough picture of why Rize was late came to mind.

Dina was looking at Rize who was talking about something downstairs, and I, who looked at them alternately, pondered for a while and finally decided to check the facts.

With her head slightly lowered, she spoke carefully in a voice that only Dina could hear.

“I’m really sorry if I misunderstood… … .”

Dina turned her head slightly to me, and I could see the golden eyes that had been covered once more.

“By any chance, is your name Diana?”

“… … !”

At my question, Dina, no, Diana’s shoulders trembled.

Is this to say that Rize was born with such a fate? I never thought that a relationship like this would continue.

Diana Rita Faerun.

I will become the first princess of the Faerun Empire.

I couldn’t believe it when I saw the golden eyes unique to the imperial lineage, but it was true.

I never thought I would meet like this in a tournament I came to see lightly.

“Huh, no, um.”

He said he was talking softly, but it seemed that Douglas had heard it too.

He couldn’t say anything, just let out a moan as if it was difficult.

Princess Diana is alone here, no, she’s not really alone. I wondered if it was because I wanted to experience the festival myself.

Then, I met Rize by chance, and as much as Rizeni likes to meddle, I must have tried to take her to see the festival.

He must have come late to the match because he helped Diana with something.

“Uh, is it real?!”

Scarlett, who was slow to grasp the situation by herself, said in surprise, and Diana lowered her head even more.

I never thought that there would be people recognizing me in a place like this.

In the end, Diana hurriedly rose from her seat as if she had made up her mind.

“I will go.”

“wait a minute. No, wait.”

I also hurriedly called Diana to stop her from leaving, but I couldn’t bear to grab the hem of her dress.

“I just asked for confirmation. Since Rize brought you as a friend, I promise to treat you as a friend from now on.”

“… … .”

At my words, Diana seemed to think for a moment, then slowly sat down.

“Rize… … Because I wanted to see you. I’ll see you here.”

It seems that he became very close with Rize in a short period of time.

Seeing that the match hadn’t started yet, I nodded and continued the conversation.

“As Rize’s father, I’m just saying this, but I hope you stay close. Because I only like swords like that, I don’t have many same-s*x friends.”

“That’s me too… … Actually, this is the first time I have a friend like Rize.”

He wondered if the princess would be able to meet a friend similar to Rize.

I just smiled and added.

“I’m glad. Rize would be happy to hear that.”

“That would be nice. Rize is a special friend.”

“So that’s what I’m saying… … .”

I sighed and paused for a while, then opened my mouth again with my eyes on Rize.

“I want you to tell Rize the truth later. I won’t say anything else, so I’ll fully respect your choice. However, if you are really friends with Rize, I don’t think there should be such a secret.”

After saying that, I looked at Diana and proudly added a smile.

“Our Rize doesn’t change her attitude towards her friends because she’s swayed by things like that.”

“… … Yes, I guess.”

Diana thought for a moment and then nodded.

The faint smile on it contained trust in Rize.

It made me wonder what Rize had done to gain this much trust from the princess.

“Sorry to have kept you waiting! Finally, the judgment results are out and we will proceed with the match!”

At that time, Nelson finally came up to the arena and opened his mouth like that, drawing attention from the noisy audience.

Nelson called Rize and the other contestant onto the stage, then looked around the crowd and continued talking.

“We decided to give a penalty to Miss Rize for being late. You start with 1 loss in this match and accumulate 1 warning. Even if you pass the round of 16, if you are late again, you will be eliminated immediately with two warnings.”

It was somewhat as expected.

Rize came to the arena, but the discussion was already underway at that time, so her lateness was final.

However, since the organizers continued to inform her that she was a promising player, it would not have been possible to just drop Rize.

So it could be seen that he gave such an appropriate penalty.

Actually, Rize didn’t seem to have any special feelings about that kind of penalty, but she bowed toward the audience and spoke in a loud voice.

“Forgive me for being late!”

Then, as we saw before, it rotated at right angles and greeted the seats in all four directions. Eventually, laughter and applause flowed from the audience.

“Are you going to make it as fun as it is late?”

“Show me a great match!”

“I will cheer you on!”

When the commotion subsided, Nelson raised his hand again, tidying up the hall.

Rize and the opposing child each held their wooden swords, and the atmosphere above the arena calmed down.

“start!”

Then, Nelson’s hand fell down, and it was the opponent, not Rize, who made the first move.

Seeing Rize in the preliminaries, it seemed that he did not want to lose his player.

The speed was good, and the posture wasn’t bad either.

Tadak!

The only problem was that the opponent was Rize.

Rize, who received the sword lightly, immediately turned around and pulled the opponent’s wooden sword, which had been entangled as if entangling a tree branch, to break the balance.

Right after that, a quick kick in the leg caused the opponent to fall to the floor, and Rize pointed the wooden sword at the opponent’s neck.

Then Rize muttered with an expression that she had made a mistake.

“Ah, I didn’t mean to end it so easily… … Stop reflexively. Sorry?”

“… … .”

I decided not to mention much about the other child’s expression.